Released in the USA on November 24th, 2014, the film (directed by Morten Tyldum), is still playing in theaters nationwide. (Photo courtesy of The Weinstein Company)
World War II was a battle of democracy versus the Nazis, a triumph of freedom over tyranny and of human rights over oppression, symbolized by the unforgettable images of soldiers losing their lives on the ground, in the ocean, and in the air. But to British mathematician and pioneering computer scientist Alan Turing, played by Benedict Cumberbatch, the war was not won by violence or prevailing ideologies. It was won with math and logic by a top-secret government group of British codebreakers, responsible for cracking the Nazis’ secret messages and ultimately shortening the war by two years, saving over 14 million lives with the valuable intelligence they provided. Turing was a key figure in cracking the codes due to his revolutionary machine, properly called a bombe, which deciphered the messages enciphered by the Germans’ own machine, Enigma – originally thought to be unbreakable by top cryptologists. Instead of being celebrated as the war hero he was, he was later chemically castrated for being gay, which was considered a criminal offence in Britain until 1967.
As the gay rights movement faces a potential milestone or setback with the ongoing Supreme Court case regarding gay marriage’s legalization, “The Imitation Game” proves especially powerful. Turing is never ashamed of his sexuality. What terrifies Turing instead are the unfair consequences borne from his sexuality. In each major part of his life – his teenage years at boarding school, his wartime work cracking German codes, and his post war decline following his criminal conviction – Turing struggles with the consequences his sexuality unintentionally causes. He struggles with his first love. He struggles with hiding his homosexuality from the government while working for the government. He struggles with his chemical castration and he struggles with the morality of being engaged to close friend and fellow codebreaker Joan Clarke (played by Keira Knightley), who does not know he’s gay.
His screen time with Knightley is enjoyable to watch because of their easy chemistry and their characters’ mutual intelligence and awkwardness. Her performance is memorable as Joan struggles with gendered stereotypes and expectations. She is expected to act as a radio clerk while hiding her real job. Her intelligence is doubted because she is a woman and she is hindered by gendered expectations that she marry by a certain age. The film then exposes Britain’s hypocrisy. As Britain supposedly fights for freedom for everyone, women are denied equality while homosexuals are denied human rights, both before and after the war. This is tragically seen with Turing as he is convicted by the very country he worked so hard to save simply because he was gay.
“The Imitation Game” does an excellent job seamlessly weaving back and forth between these parts of Turing’s life, eventually merging all three storylines satisfyingly. Another major theme centers on keeping secrets and the consequences of both keeping secrets and revealing secrets. This is highlighted through Turing’s lifelong struggle with being gay as well as the World War II backdrop of cracking German secret messages. Even the fact that there exists a group of codebreakers like Turing’s is kept a government secret for over fifty years after WWII ends.
What truly brings Turing to life though is Cumberbatch’s captivating and poignant performance of the eccentric, complex mathematician. Cumberbatch portrays Turing as an arrogant, socially awkward genius who has trouble cooperating with others and more trouble understanding humor. After his popular performance as another eccentric genius (Sherlock), it is no surprise that Cumberbatch pulls off this role convincingly. He encompasses all of Turing’s eccentricities: the insane focus to the design of a machine, the fast-paced talking of a man whose mind is clearly thinking faster than he has time to explain, the lack of understanding humor by taking everything literally, the accidental abrasiveness with which he treats others because he is too focused working. Cumberbatch makes Turing’s eccentricities believable, charming, and even endearing. Cumberbatch is Alan Turing. Cumberbatch also portrays Turing’s emotional struggles as a homosexual, an outsider, and an awkward genius with passion and finesse. Sorrow, regret, anger, determination, happiness: it’s in the brim of tears in his eyes that won’t spill over, the slight crack in his voice, or the slumped shoulders of a defeated man. Cumberbatch mercilessly and effortlessly tugs at your heartstrings.
Among the number of biopics up for Oscars this year, like “The Theory of Everything,” “Wild,” and “American Sniper,” “The Imitation Game” is a formidable Oscars contender because of Cumberbatch’s powerhouse performance as well as the wonderful performances from the supporting cast. As talented as Cumberbatch is, the film would fail without the meaningful script, strong cast, and smooth directing it clearly has. The film works equally well as a historical thriller with focus on the codebreakers’ contributions to ending WWII. Humans are fighting one another in war as well as machines (Enigma and Turing’s machine) are fighting with one another. It is engaging and intense and coupled with Cumberbatch’s delivery of Turing’s achievements and tragic life story, the film succeeds as easily one of the best pictures of 2014. Despite being snubbed by the Golden Globes, though it received five nominations, the film deserves the rewards it has already received, as well as any it may receive in the future.